


Echoes of the Past

by Vamir



Series: Elsword: The Dark World [2]
Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-10-31 00:24:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17838881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vamir/pseuds/Vamir
Summary: Are these... memories? Who all do they belong to? Why are these being remembered?





	1. Together

“Elsword.”

…

            “Elsword!”

…

            “Elsword, get up, you dumbass!!!”

            “Wah!!” He woke to find his sister shaking him. “I’m up, I’m up!”

            She folded her arms. “Geez, Elsword. You can’t keep sleeping until noon every day. When the academy starts back up, you’re gonna be late!”

            He laughed and scratched the back o his head with his arm. “I know, I know. I’ll… fix that when the time comes.”

            She sighed and turned away. “Anyway, Aisha’s here to see you. Said it’s important.”

            “Aisha…? Why would she…?”

            “Don’t know, but I wouldn’t keep her waiting. She doesn’t look happy.” She walked out of his room.

            The weirdest part about this was Aisha. Normally, she wouldn’t go to see him, no matter the situation. Whatever it was must have been _really_ important. But then, she probably would have gotten Elesis if it was _that_ important.

            Finished getting ready, he went to the door. “Morning, Aish-“

            “Elsword, you dummy!” He was then greeted with a punch to the stomach. It wasn’t strong, but he wasn’t expecting it. She took the opportunity of him having bent over slightly, and grabbed the collar of his shirt, starting to drag him. “It’s no wonder you’re so short! First, you only eat meat, then there’s you sleep schedule! You literally sleep for half the day!”

            Still half asleep, he answered tiredly. “You say that, but I’m still taller than you. In fact, you’re so small, you’re like a-“ he felt a kick to his gut, knocking the wind out of him.

            “Two things. One, I’m not small! And two, how could you not remember?! It only happened yesterday!”

            “Yesterday?” He didn’t remember anything significant happening. He woke up around noon, hung out with Aisha and Rena near the El Tree, then Rena asked him to- oh. “Oh!” He stood up, freeing himself from Aisha’s death grip, causing her to fall over.

            “Ah!” She looked up, then spoke in (at least as close as she could get) a dark and grumbly voice. “Elsword… I’m going to KILL YOU!!!” She began to run after Elsword with her eyes full of murderous intent.

            Had he not been able to run faster than her, she probably would have actually killed him. Fortunately for him, he made it to the top of the hill with the tree Rena had asked him to meet her by. He found her sitting asleep next to the tree, and brushed a strand of hair off to the side.

            She began to open her eyes, and, seeing how close to her he was, she leaned back, her eyes wide. “E-Elsword? W-what are you doing?”

            “Ah, well I, uh, saw a strand of hair in your mouth, and I thought it might be uncomfortable so I, uh… moved it…”

            Her eyes relaxed, and she leaned back forward. “Oh. Th-thanks, I guess.” She stood up and took a deep breath. “You can do this, Rena!”

            “…what?”

            She took another deep breath before speaking loudly, “Elsword, I know we might’ve not met on the best of terms, but I actually… I um…” her voice trailed and she began muttering to herself. “Shit, what was the next line? Maybe…”

            “Rena, are you trying to-“

            “This is _your_ fault, you know. For being late to _my_ confessional.”

            “Rena, I think I-“

            “You know what? Screw my script. Elsword, will you go out with me?”

            He paused for a moment. This had gone exactly as he expected, having figured it out when she told herself that she could do it. “Rena, don’t get me wrong. You’re cute, funny, and a good fighter. But I’m just not looking for that kind of thing right now. I hope you understand.”

            She paused, and her eyes dropped. “I see. I get it, though.” Her bright face came back. “If… if you ever change your mind, I’ll still be here.” She smiled softly at him.

            The two then parted ways, and from just the other side of the hill, he could hear Aisha say, “So? How’d it go?”

            He felt a little guilty after hearing Aisha say that, but what was he supposed to do? Sure, she was a good person and all, but he genuinely didn’t want to be in a relationship like that. At least, not yet. He laid down on the grass, and watched the rich blue sky until he dozed off to sleep.

            After what felt to be a few hours, he woke up to a familiarly horrifying sound. “EeeelllsWWWOOOORRRRD!!!” Aisha’s voice could be heard echoing.

            I need to move, he thought. I may actually die here.

            And yet, he just laid there. Whether or not he was paralyzed in fear, he had no idea. What he did know was that it wouldn’t take Aisha long to find where he was.

            “Elsword! Wake up, you big dummy! I’m talking to you!”

            He just then realized that he had closed his eyes. Opening them, he looked back at Aisha, who was leaning over him.

            “How could you just reject Rena like that?! Do you have any idea how long she’s been planning this?!”

            “Um… no?”

            “Months! She completely broke down crying after you rejected her!”

            “Aisha, don’t make things up!” Rena stood behind her. “I didn’t take it _that_ badly. Besides, had you listened to me instead of just taken off, you would know that I was kind of expecting this. Elsword, just ignore her.”

            “What?! Rena, I’m doing this for you! I-“

            Her playful face was gone, and replaced with the serious one they had rarely seen. “Aisha, stop. You’re not helping anything.”

            Aisha hesitated before answering. “Fine. I’m going home.” She stormed off.

            “I should probably see what kind of poison Elesis is preparing for dinner. See you later, Rena!”

He walked back home. “I’m back!”

            “Welcome back, Elsword!” Elesis’ voice called from the kitchen.

            “So what kind of death is for dinner this time?”

            “Hey! My cooking’s not _that_ bad!” She stepped out of the kitchen.

            “Elesis, you burned a smoothie.”

            “It’s not _my_ fault the blender wouldn’t work!”

            “Sure, sure. Blame it on your equipment.”

            She stomped her foot. “That’s a _perfectly_ valid reason!”

            “Uh huh.” He sniffed the air. “Do I even want to know what that horrific smell is?”

            “Hah!” She folded her arms and puffed her chest. “I’ll have you know I’m proud of my curry today!”

            He leaned over and glanced in the kitchen. “Is it _supposed_ to be on fire?”

            “Y-yes…!” They both paused for a moment. “S-shut up! Let me get back to my cooking!” She ran back into the kitchen. After hearing her cough, he decided go out back and practice for a while. Not long after, she called him back in for dinner.

            He took a small plate of food. “Please don’t let this kill me.” He took a small bite, then stood up. “Actually, I just remembered that I’m not really that hungry, so I’m just going to go to bed, okay? Okay.” He started to walk away, but was stopped by Elesis grabbing the collar of his sweater.

            “Now hold on, Elsword~ I happen to know for a fact that you haven’t eaten yet today. And because I know how much you _love_ eating meat, I made you EXTRA PORTIONS!!!”

            With a yell of true terror, Elsword was sat down, and he forced down several platefuls of her burned curry. “There… I’m… done…”

            “Good! And now, for desert, I made…”

            “NO! NO, I’m not eating anything else tonight!”

            “I’m joking, Elsword. You’re free to do whatever.”

            He got up and went to bed for the night. He woke up to the sun barely rising over the horizon. Rather than going back to sleep like he normally would, he decided to go back out and practice. Not long after, Elesis joined him.

            “You know, you’d do more damage if you used a claymore, like me.”

“And I’m still going to beat you without one, someday.”

“And I still believe you.”

            “Then why don’t we have a match? Here and now.”

            “What? Are you kidding? This early? I still have things to do today. You should have asked me after dinner.”

            “You know what? Fine. I’m done anyway. Field is yours.”

            “Oh, and why don’t you invite your friends over for dinner?”

“Which ones?”

            “What do you mean, which ones? Those two girls you always hang out with.”

            “Oh, right. Them.”

“I promise I won’t serve them ‘liquid death’ this time.”

            “Or any other kind of death?”

            “I’ll go out and get something.”

            “Alright. In that case, I’ll ask them.”

            He headed out and went to the El Tree, where the three of them normally met up, and found Rena sleeping at the base of the tree. “You know, Dad’s offered for you to stay with us several times. You don’t need to sleep out here.”

            She yawned and looked over at him. “I know. I just don’t know how the rest of the elves would feel about me being taken care of by some humans.”

            “Well, that’s what’ll happen if you stay out here for too long. You’re going to get sick eventually.”

            “I’ll take that risk. It’s yet to happen.” She looked at the sky. “I’m surprised you’re up this early, Elsword.”

            “Yeah, well, I decided I needed to get serious about my training if I ever want to beat my sister in a match.”

            “You know, if you used a claymore like her, you’d easily beat her.”

            “I know, but I don’t just want to copy her. Besides, if I do that, people might lose respect for her, seeing her younger sibling far surpass her. She might be taking care of me while dad’s gone, but that doesn’t mean I can’t also take care of her for the long run.”

            “That’s… strangely mature of you, Elsword.”

            “Yeah, well… I guess I need to grow up sometime.”

            “Oh, so _now_ you two hit it off?” Aisha spoke in a joking manner from a tree root not far off.

            “Would you shut it, Aisha? He rejected me fair and square. Nothing’s changed between us.”

            “Oh, sure, sure~”

            “Aisha, seriously. We’re all friends here.” Elsword stood up alongside Rena.

            “Oh? Are you asking me to be friends with a stupid brat like you?”

            “No, I just- shut up.” He shoved her shoulder.

            “Hey, just because I don’t have _all_ of my magic doesn’t mean I couldn’t beat the daylights out of you in a fight!”

            “Yeah? You want to try it? I assure you, you’ll lose!”

            “Guys, stop. We shouldn’t fight here, with the shard and all.”

            “Oh, right. That. Thanks for the reminder. How about your place then, Aisha? That should be far enough.” Elsword commented, putting his sword on his shoulder.

            “Oh, really? You’re asking a girl if you can go to her house? Even when Rena is right here?”

            “Fine. I guess you’re too afraid of how miserably I’ll beat you!”

            “No, I just think you’ll take advantage of the fact that I don’t want to destroy my house.”

            Rena sighed. “Get a room, you two.”

            They both looked over at her.

            “You know, Aisha, We could use some supervision to make sure neither of us goes overboard.”

            “Finally, something we can agree on!”

            They both smiled at Rena, who started backing up, before her back hit the tree.

            “Oh no. No, no. I’m not getting mixed up in your affairs. Not again. Never again!” She then leaped over a nearby root and ran off.

            Elsword sighed and shook his head. “Well, I guess that settles the stakes then.”

            “Same as always, before Rena intervenes?”

            “The winner gets to be Rena’s friend.”

            “The loser is killed in battle.”

            “Then we’ll start when we get to your place.”

            “Wait, why _my_ place?!”

            “Because if we do it at mine, Elesis’ll kill us both!”

            “So?!”

            “Oh, I see. You just wanted an excuse to go to a boy’s house, huh Aisha?” Rena’s voice came from behind them.

            “Wh-what?!?!” Aisha whipped around, and glared at her.

            “And you two aren’t going to fight with those terms. Because the minute you do, I’ll abandon you both. Is that clear?” She had put on her serious face again.

            “But Rena, we just-“ Aisha started.

            “Shut it. I don’t have to talk to either of you. And if I hear you guys talk about this one more time, then I won’t let you two near the tree at all. Got it?”

            The two of them lowered their heads. “Sorry, Rena. I… I didn’t know this meant that much to you.” Elsword apologized.

            “We won’t seriously consider it again.” Aisha added on.

            “Good!” Rena’s face returned to its usual bright self. “Now, why don’t we do something fun together? I heard the hot springs here were nice.”

            “You haven’t been yet?”

            “I’ve been pretty busy.”

            “But guys and girls are separated for… obvious reasons.” Elsword pointed out.

            “Are you just opposed to it because you won’t get to see Rena and I in a towel?” Aisha teased.

            “Well, first, you wouldn’t be much to look at,” Elsword teased back.

            “Hey! I’m not _that_ small!” Aisha tried to defend herself.

            “and second, she suggested something together, not just the two of you.” He pointed out.

            “Hmm…” Rena had a thoughtful look on her face. “Actually, I think I have an idea.”

~0{]|[}0~

            “Rena, I can’t believe that you actually rented out the entire spring just so we wouldn’t have to be in split baths.” Elsword stood in disbelief, looking at the spring.

            “Let’s just say that this is their way of repaying a favor I did for them once, and leave it at that.” Rena started walking towards the water.

           “What kind of favor did you do that warrants renting out the entire spring as repayment?” Aisha questioned.

            “Oh, this and that. I’m not really going to tell you~” she teased as she entered the water. “Ah~ this is nice!”

            The other two looked at each other and stated towards the water. “So, let me get this strait, you did a favor for the people who run this place, but never actually went into the spring?” Elsword began questioning.

            “I told you, I’m not going to tell you anything else~” Her voice was completely relaxed, and it was clear to both of them that they weren’t going to get anything else out of her. “I feel like I could just melt away~”

            He shook his head and went into the spring on the opposite side of the girls. “You know, you really are impossible, sometimes.”

            “Yeah, I mean, you probably did this just so you could see him shirtless!” Aisha teased.

            They both waited for a reply, but none came. After a few seconds, Aisha looked at Rena’s tilted back head. “She’s asleep.”

            “Asleep?! What do you mean she fell asleep?!”

            “Well, I mean that her eyes are closed, and she’s breathing deeply.”

            “Thanks, I got that much. But… what?!”

            Aisha sighed. “Sleeping is a state in which a person’s mind falls unconscious in order to-“

            “Alright, I think that’s enough of this.” He stood up.

            “Enough of what? Hey, where are you going?!” She stood up and began to walk towards the leaving Elsword.

            “I’m going home. I don’t feel like I need this kind of sass from you right now.”

            “So you’re just going to let Rena’s favor go to waste?”

            “…” He thought for a few moments. “…fine.” He walked back over and sat back in the springs. “But to be clear, I’m only doing this because I don’t want Rena to feel bad about using her favor like this, not anything even remotely related to you.”

            She put her hands on her hips. “Looks like I win this time!”

            “Your towel’s sliding down. You may want to adjust it before I see something you don’t want me to.”

            “!” She quickly brought her arms up and readjusted her towel. “Payback?”

            “Nah. Payback would be me pointing out that there wouldn’t really be anything to see even if it did fall.”

            “Excuse me?! I… I’m not _that_ small!” She started blushing madly.

            “When’s the last time you looked in a mirror? You really are.”

            “A-am not! Y-you’re just saying that because you’re short!”

            “Hey, I’ll at least admit to that. I just haven’t hit my growth spurt yet! You, on the other hand…”

            “Hey!  I’m the same age as you, dummy!”

            “Keep telling yourself that. Maybe it’ll be true one day.”

            “IT _IS_ TRUE!!!”

            “Whatever you say, old hag.”

            “Well I’m not the creep looking at people’s chests!”

            “You’re doing it now, Aisha. I’d say you are.”

            “Well I… Shut up!”

            Just then, he realized that Rena was no longer sitting in the spring. He caught a glimpse of green hair under the water and dove into the shallow spring after her.

            “W-what are you doing, you perv?!”

            By then, he couldn’t hear her, being completely underwater. She swam up to her and picked her up, raising out of the water. He then walked out of the spring and set her on the ground.

            “O-oh. I… I didn’t notice…”

            After coughing for a short while, she spoke. “Ah~ That was nice~”

            “She’s fine. Aisha, could you look after her? I’m going to train before Elesis kills me for not training for two days.”

            “Wait, so you’re really going to just leave her here?”

            “Aisha… I, well, let’s be honest. I don’t like you. But even so, I… still trust you to do the right thing.” He left the spring, dressed himself, and headed back.

~0{]|[}0~

            “I’m home!” He announced his arrival.

            “Welcome back, Elsword!” He was met with a familiar, deep voice.

            “Wait… Dad?!”

            “Haha! How’s it going, kiddo?”

            “But I thought… When did you get back?”

            “Not long after you left.” Elesis stepped into the room. “And since I know you’re probably tired from your travel, I’ll cook dinner.”

            “Oh, I’m not so tired as to put up with your cooking, Elesis. Really, I’ll cook.”

            “Hey! W-what’s that supposed to mean?”

            “Well, no offense, Elesis, but your cooking is terrible!”

            “I-it’s not _that_ bad! And how am I supposed to _not_ take offense from that?!”

            “Let me put it this way. You inherited your cooking skills from your mother.”

            “Hey! That’s not any better!”

            “He’s right, Elesis. Your cooking’s almost killed me several times, too!” Elsword joined in the joking.

            Elesis sighed in defeat. “Fine. But keep in mind that we’ll have guests tonight.”

            “Guests?” Elsword looked confused.

            “…you _did_ remember to ask them, right?”

            “Ah… well… now that you mention it…”

            She sighed again. “That’s fine. I’ll go and ask them. You two can just wait here and… I don’t know. Start dinner or something.” She left the house.

            “You know, Elsword? Your sister’s grown up a lot since I’ve been gone. Her cooking may be bad, but she at least takes the initiative to do things.”

            “I mean, I guess so. Wasn’t she always like that, though?”

            “You’ve grown up a lot too, you know.”

            Are you ignoring my question, Elsword thought. “Thanks, I guess.”

            “You may not see it now, but you will later. You’ll look back on how you behaved when you were younger and you’ll see how much you’ve changed. Now your sister’s right. I need to get to cooking.”

~0{]|[}0~

I didn’t know it at the time, but that meal would be the last one the five of us had together. My father left the next morning on a mission, and my sister left on a personal quest a few weeks after. I dropped from Ruben’s school system to take up my sisters role of guarding the El Shard, at least during the day. About two years later, everything started to change when Banthus stole the Shard.

~0{]|Part 2: Echoes of the Past begins|[}0~


	2. Grandfather

            “Aisha! You are the daughter of the Landar family! Stop using your exceptional gift for childish games at once!”

            This wasn’t the first time she had been yelled at for using her magic like this. Her father was very strict about her magic usage.

            “Yes, father…”

            “Now, now, Risim. She’s only eight years old. Let her explore her powers as she sees fit.” Her grandfather was always the one to stand up for her.

            Her father grumbled. “When I was her age, I was able to use my magic to kill a bear!”

            “And who’s choice was it to learn to use magic that way? Yours. I gave you that freedom.”

            “And as her father, I choose to have her study combat magics!”

            “Risim, you are not the master of this household! And if you keep up this behavior, you never shall be! Come, Aisha. Let’s practice magic the way _you_ want to.”

            “Okay!” She stood up and happily ran to his office. She didn’t understand what either of them were talking about, and she didn’t pretend to. All she knew is that she wanted to play with her spectral bunnies.

            “That girl will bring disgrace to our family, old man.”

            “ _You_ are the one who has brought disgrace to our family, Risim. This girl will _restore_ our family name.”

A few months later, my father was killed. I never learned who it was that killed him, or even the slightest reason why. Grandfather kept me close after that. He taught me how to use the magics I wanted to use in ways I hadn’t been able to even imagine before.

I never understood what he meant by talented. Maybe it was what he said was my fast pace of learning new magics. But more than that, he said that he spent months trying to read books that I could just pick up and read. Thinking back, that was probably how I learned most of my spells. I read about them in books, asked questions, and tried casting them.

This was probably the happiest I’ve ever been. But that all came crashing to an end one day when he called me in to his office.

            “Aisha… there’s something… you need to have… before I go…”

            “Go? Go where? On a trip?”

            “My time… has come. Aisha… death has come… for me.”

            “What do you mean? I… I still have so much to learn…”

            “In time, Aisha… in time. For now… take this…” He placed a scroll in her hand. “Never open this… Aisha… People… will come… for it… if they know…”

            “Know what? What is this?”

            “Aisha… My dear Aisha… Go to Ruben… There… you can… restore what… your father and I… lost…”

            “What you lost? I… I don’t understand.”

            “Aisha… My last request… go to Ruben… keep it… safe… re…store…”

            “Grandfather? Grandfather! Get up! Come on, this isn’t…” Tears started rolling down her cheek, “this isn’t funny! Get up!”

            After crying for a while, she dried her tears and walked out of the room.

            “Aisha! What happened? Why were you in there for so long?!”

            She shook her head.

            “Aisha… if it was something bad, I need to know.”

            “I… I’m going to Ruben.”

            “What? When? W-what about your training?”

            “Now. And I’m finishing it there.”

            “What?! Why would… what about your grandfather? Isn’t he going to finish your training?”

            “He’s… that was…” She took in a breath and sobbed. “That was his last request.”

            “What?! What do you mean?!”

            “He’s dead! You get it now?! He’s… he’s dead!”

            “What?! Did he at least tell you who his successor was?!”

            She shook her head again.

            “That’s… that’s impossible! What about-“

            “I’m going now. I don’t really care about your politics. I’m going to carry out his last wish and go to Ruben to complete my training. You can tell everyone I said goodbye. I’m leaving my things.”

I left after that. And I never looked back. On the ship ride to Ruben, I read the scroll. He appointed me to be the next head of the family. The Ruben Academy gave me a place to stay.  Not long after, I met that boy. I hated him. I really did. Even long after Banthus stole the El Shard. I truly hated him, but… well… I guess… I fell in love with him.


	3. Mission

            “You called, sir?” She sat with her left knee and right hand in a fist on the ground.

            “Ah, Rena! Our talented prodigy! How are you doing?”

            She hesitated a bit. “Um… w-with all due respect, sir, I think we’d both find this more comfortable if we could get to the main point.”

            “Of course. Rena, I have your first assignment.”

            “W-what?! I’m receiving my first mission from you?!”

            “I understand that it’s not every day that a ranger fresh from training receives their first mission from a grand council member, but, to be perfectly blunt, you’re one of the best we have.”

            “I… I see. And what am I to do?”

            “There’s a small village to the West of here. Ruben. Have you heard of it?”

            “It’s home of the Ruben Academy, the El Tree, and the captain of the Red Knights, Captain Sieghart.”

            “That’s the one. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, would be to go to Ruben and protect the El Tree.”

            “The Tree? What happened to it?”

            “Nothing… yet. And hopefully nothing will.”

            “Um… if… if nothing’s happened, then why…?”

            “Why are we sending you out?”

            She nodded.

            “The entire council has been getting… feelings. Some claim to have visions. Something will happen to the El.”

            “Then, with all due respect, sir, wouldn’t it be better to send multiple people? If something bad really is about to happen, then wouldn’t multiple people have a better chance at stopping it?”

            “You have a good head, Rena. Many of us came to the same conclusion. However, politics often get in the way of doing what is right.”

            “…what do you mean?”

            “The elves have worked hard to maintain a peaceful relationship with the humans. One of the terms of our peace treaty states that we can’t have more than one ranger in a given area. The humans wouldn’t take kindly to us suddenly breaking that term and fully occupying a human town because ‘we had a bad feeling.’”

            “I-I see. But then, with all due respect, wouldn’t it be better to send some… I don’t know… more skilled and experienced than me?”

            “Rena, when the council was trying to decide who would be sent, half of us suggested you by name.”

            “But I-“

            “Your lack of confidence to complete this mission solely comes from your lack of experience, I believe. With any luck, we will be wrong, and nothing will happen. But if something _does_ go wrong, the council trusts that you can handle it better than most of the other rangers.”

            “…Very well. I understand. How long will I be gone?”

            “It will be a short mission. Only about ten years, unless you wish to stay longer.”

            “T-ten years?! Sir, with all due respect-“

            “You wish to go on the group mission that the rest of your friends from training are going on?”

            “Uh…” She hesitantly nodded. “…Yes sir.”

            “Very well. I can’t stop you if you wish to complete that mission instead. I can only hope that you will reconsider.”

            “Sir… I apologize for disappointing the council.”

            “Rena…” He walked up to her. “Leaving your friends behind is no easy feat. You don’t know when, or even if, you’ll get to see them again. None of us will blame you in the slightest if you choose to turn down this mission. But in case you change your mind, I will give you a week to come back and speak to me.”

            “But, sir…”

            “Your friends mission leaves tomorrow, is your only concern, right?”

            She nodded.

            “This will give you time to come back if you change your mind during the mission.”

            “Thank you, sir.”

            “You are dismissed.”

            She started to walk off.

            “Oh, and Rena. I won’t inform the council of your decision until the week has passed. It’ll look better if you took time to consider it before declining. Whether or not you take that time to actually consider is up to you.”

            “Thank you, sir.” She walked back to the building where her team was set to stay until they left for their missions.

~0{]|[}0~

            “So? How’d it go?” One of her friends asked upon her arrival.

            “Huh? How’d what go?”

            “Aw, come on! You know _exactly_ what I mean!”

            “…no?”

            “The meeting with the council member! You know, the _one_ thing that you left to go do? You _did_ go, didn’t you?”

            “Oh, that. Yeah, I went.”

          She waved the others over. “So? Tell us _all_ about it. Unless, you know. It’s top secret, or something like that.”

            “Oh, no, it’s nothing like that.”

           “Then tell us what happened! I’ve been waiting practically since you left!” A guy from her team nudged her. “After all, it’s not every day that some recruit is called by a high member of the Grand Council.”

            “It’s… it’s nothing you guys need to concern yourselves with.”        

            “Well now I _really_ want to know!” The other friend nudged her.

            “Well… he just wanted to congratulate me, is all. For clearing training so fast, I mean.”

            “Hmm… I don’t buy it.” The guy said.

            “Yeah. I don’t either.” The girl folded her arms.

            Rena sighed. “Fine. But I’m only telling you two, and we’ll go somewhere we won’t be heard first.”

            The three of the headed into the basement, and entered a secret room they had fund while exploring the place. Rena then told them what had happened.

            The girl slammed her fists on a table. “And you turned that down?! How could you?! If it were me, then I would have accepted it without a single thought!!”

            “Then I guess that’s where we’re different, Lua. I can’t make a decision like leaving my friends behind so easily.”

            “But still… I can’t imagine turning an opportunity like that down…”

            “I think you made the right decision, Rena.”

            “Thanks, Branwen. I appreciate it.”

            Lua sighed. “Well, I guess if you’ve decided on that, then I’ll support you. After all, that’s what we do as the Trinity!”

            Rena smiled and lowered her head. “Thanks Lua.” She looked up, “You know, you’re still the only one who’s agreed to that name!”

            She huffed her face. “What are you talking about? Branwen agrees with me, right?”

            “Uh…” He hesitated. “Y-yes ma’am!”

            Lua folded her arms. “Hah! See? That’s two out of three! The name sticks!”

            Rena sighed and shook her head. “Well, I guess there are three of us, so it at least works…”

            “I’ll take that as a unanimous agreement to the name! When we finish the mission, we’ll form our group with that name!”

            She let out a soft laugh. “Well then, I guess we should get some rest for our mission tomorrow, then.” She headed to the door. “See you guys tomorrow morning! Don’t forget, Lua, call time is at four!”

            “Hey, I’m not the one you need to worry about! I’ll be up at one!”

            She waved back at them, “It’s one _now_ , Lua. Just don’t make me come and get you up, okay?”

            She then left and went back to her room, preparing her things for their early departure time, and went to sleep for a while, then woke back up, picked up her things and left.

            Arriving at the gathering site, there were three others who arrived before her, and most of the troupe trickled in shortly after. Everyone then began to check the attendance of their own sections.

            “Is everyone present?”

            “Um…” A voice called out from the back. “We’re missing someone back here. We don’t know who, but one of the support mages isn’t here.”

            “A support mage?” The commander spoke quietly under his breath. “There aren’t many this time. Who could it be?”

            “Commander, I think I might know. Could I go and find her?” Rena was already in the front as a scout, so she was able to overhear the commander.

            “Rena…? If it were anyone else, I’d say no, but I’ll make an exception just for you. If you’re not back in five minutes, though, we’re leaving without you two.”

            “Understood. I’ll be right back!” She quickly ran back the Luas room to find her still sleeping.

            “Lua! Get up! We’re about to leave!”

            “Mmm… five more minutes…”

            “Everyone’s going to leave in five minutes! We need to go NOW!” She pulled her arm, dragging her out of bed. “Seriously?! You changed into pajamas before a mission?!”

            “Hey, it’s not _my_ fault we stayed up late before an early mission…”

            “It kind of is! And what does that have to do with changing, anyway?!” She sighed. “Look, just get changed, and I’ll get your things together. Just do it fast, okay?” Without waiting for an answer, she collected the things she had seen Lua carry with her during various missions.

            Finishing, she went to check back in on Lua. “What?! How can you not be _any_ closer?! It’s been several minutes!”

            “I mean, it’s not like this is a super big deal. If it’s only the two of us, I’m sure they’ll make due.”

            Rena went up to her and slapped her across the face. “What the hell, Lua? This isn’t training anymore. This is an actual mission. This is real life. The three of us can only be a trinity if you can wake up to see that this isn’t a dream. Get your life together, Lua. Because we won’t wait for you forever. All of this… it might disappear some day. And if you don’t catch up, you’ll be left behind. Like the people you did to get this far.” She threw the rest of her outfit at her. “Now hurry up. I’ll wait outside, and I’ll lead you to the first rest spot on the map, according to the schedule.”

            She left the room and a few minutes later, Lua came out with her head down. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

~0{]|[}0~

            After a while of walking, Rena noticed that Luas head had been down for a while. “What’s up?”

            “Huh? What do you mean?”

            “You’ve been looking down for a while, since you left your room. What’s up?”

            “Oh, well…” She paused for a moment. “I’ve been thinking about what you said. What did you mean when you said I’d left people behind to get where I am?”

            She sighed and lowered her head. “This world is cruel. It forces us to leave behind the ones we care about to better ourselves. If we want to move on, we have to use others as stepping stones. We make them fail in order for us to succeed. After all, only so many people move on to reach this high. Everyone else is removed during training. Three people from each group are selected to move on and join a new group, the rest are removed, and the process begins again. Thirty thousand candidates reduced to only thirty. But this involves several large group activities. You have to work with people knowing most of them will be unable to advance. That’s the cruel truth of this world. To succeed, you must make others fail.”

            “But Branwen and I-“

            “Only met in the stage before this. I recognize the symbols on your uniforms. Yes, you _can_ help people. But I’d be willing to bet that most people only helped others in that last round, when they know they wouldn’t be competition anymore.”

            “But that’s not… I-I would never…”

            “Believe what you will. I don’t mean to be the person to sound this dark, but all things in the world behave this way. Animals compete with each other for food. Plants compete with each other for sunlight. This isn’t something that we as people do that’s unique. It’s the way of the world.”

            “Ah… I see…”

            “In any case, there’s a road up ahead. We’ll take a rest on the road.”

            “Wouldn’t it be safer if we rested off to the side of the road?”

            “Normally, yes, you’d be right. However, this route is usually only used by new groups like us. Scouts don’t even report wildlife on the road. Plus, I have an idea on how we can catch up to the rest of them before they arrive at their campsite. But for now, let’s just rest. We’ll need our energy later.”

~0{]|[}0~

            “Rena?” The commanders voice spoke. “How did you get here ahead of us? The only faster way was-“

            “Through the forest,” They both said in tandem.

            “I know. It was risky, but it was… well, I guess it wasn’t the _only_ way, but all things considered, it was probably the best way.”

            “Hmm… Lua, head to the back with the other support people. Rena, you’re going to tell me the other methods of how you could reach this point faster than us other than heading through the forest.”

            The two of them talked as they continued on their path, pointing at a map and giving possible faster routes, though were considerably less safe, many of which involved a nearby river. When they reached their planned camp site, the two of them parted ways, and Rena went to the campfire with several of the others. This pattern continued for the next two days, until Lua came up to her.

            “So what’s buggin ya?”

            “Hm? What do you mean?”

            “Come on,” Branwen’s voice came from not far behind Lua, “You really thought we wouldn’t notice?”

           “Notice what? I… I genuinely don’t know what you guys are talking about.” She let out a small, playful laugh, but the others remained with a serious face.

            They glanced at each other before looking back to her. “You’ve been deep in thought since you came back from the council member. You’re _still_ deep in thought.” Lua commented. “I’m just… I want to make sure everything’s okay, you know?”

            She looked down at the fire. “It’s just… I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

            “You’re still trying to decide if you should go or not, aren’t you?” Branwen questioned.

            “Branwan!” Lua elbowed him, speaking quietly through her teeth. “She’s here, isn’t she?”

           Rena Looked up from the fire, then back at the two of them. “Brenwen… I think you might be right. I mean... I decided to go on this mission, but...”

            “Rena,” Lua called. “When you told me about people using each other to advance themselves, you were talking about yourself, weren’t you?”

            “I’m sorry, Lua. But I think… This is what I’m supposed to do.”

            “And here I thought,” She looked down, “we’d be able to be a trinity together…”

            “Lua, I’m only going to be gone for ten years. I’ll be back in practically no time at all! And when I come back, we can still form that trinity!”

            “Don’t kid yourself, Rena. Ten years is a long time. By the time you come back, we’ll all have changed drastically. You’ll most likely have become more independent, and will receive missions that will suit your new solo nature. As for us… well… who knows where we’ll be? We might be stationed at the other end of the world.”

            “Rena, if this is what you want, then go. You said you have a week to change your mind, right? If you leave now, you can still make it in time.”

            She smiled for a moment, then returned to a frown. “But what about Lua? She seems pretty torn up about this.”

            Lua was looking down, her arms by her side, shaking.

            “Rena, if you really want to go, then go. I’ll take care of Lua for you.”

            She smiled and stood up. “Thanks, Branwen.” She walked over to Lua and grabbed her shoulders. “Lua, I promise that when my time in Ruben is up, I’ll come to be with you guys. No matter where in the world that may be. Even if it means that I have to go to the moon and back, I’ll find a way to be with you two.”

            “Promise?”

            “Promise.”

            “Then… I guess it’ll be okay.” She took Rena into a hug. “I’m going to miss you.”

            “I’ll miss you too, Lua.”

            She broke the hug. “You’d better get going. Don’t want to be late, I guess.”

            She smiled. “Guess you’re right. See you in ten years, then!” She went back to her bedroll and gathered her things, and took the three day journey back.

~0{]|[}0~

            She had spent most of the time since she had arrived looking for the Council member she had spoken with earlier. She had checked around the grounds on her way to his office.  She panicked at first when he wasn’t in his office, but then had a thought: ‘the meeting!’

            She sprinted as fast as she could to the meeting hall, bursting through the door connecting to the inside, resting her hands on her knees as she saw the council member about to open the door to the meeting room.

            He then stopped and looked at her. “Well, well, look what we have here! Changed your mind, have you?”

            She was panting. “Yeah… I’ve… decided to… go on… your mission…”

            “Well, I won’t ask for any details. I think those should be yours to tell if you please.”

            “Thank you… sir…”

            “Now, you should catch your breath and drop your gear before we go in. And just a warning, the others might not share the opinions that I do about you keeping to yourself. But if all goes well, you won’t have to say anything you don’t want to.”

            “Understood…” She took a few deep breaths and dropped her gear next to the door. “I think I’m ready.”

            He nodded and opened the door. As he did, conversations that had been ongoing inside the room stopped as the other council members all turned their heads to the door.

            “Well, what’s the bad news you said you had? It certainly doesn’t appear to be about the girl, as everyone had anticipated.” One of the other council members spoke.

            “Ah, yes. We should sit down before we get to business, no?” He turned to a nearby guard. “Get Rena a seat, will you?”

            “Um, with all due respect, sir, I think it would be better if I remained standing.”

            The guard looked at the council member, who gave him a nod. “Very well, if that’s what you wish.” He walked over and took his seat. “Now, let’s begin.”

            “You were telling us of the bad news?” The one from earlier spoke.

            “That’s right. Henir’s Order has annihilated our last squad. As per our decision, the recent group or recruits have been redirected from their mission to fight them.”

            “Wait…” Rena interjected, “why are we fighting Henir’s Order?”

            “The fact that you don’t know means we’ve been doing our jobs,” A person to her left spoke, “We’ve been keeping a war with the Order a secret for nearly a hundred years now.”

            “But… why? Wouldn’t it be better for the people to know that we’re at war?”

            “Any place that has declared to the people that they are at war with the Order has fallen not long after,” Someone to her right spoke, “Do you know why?”

            “Because… Henir’s Order is an unbelievably powerful force that has an unmatchable power source?”

            “Because people become afraid of losing. When people hear that there is with a war with Henir’s Order, more often than not, the people will side with the Order to avoid being killed by them. These places are destroyed from the inside out.”

            “But then why would you send a group of recruits to fight them? Surely you have stronger, more experienced people to fight them with.”

            “Rena,” The council member who brought her spoke, “when I said the last  squad was destroyed, I didn’t mean the previous one we sent. I meant the final one. Rena, there _is_ no one else. The recruits from your squad are the last military forces we have.”

            “But then… why put them up against the Order?! They won’t last a minute!”

            “Rena, do you know why, this time around, we had all the magic users grouped together from the beginning?”

            “I… hadn’t given it much thought.”

            “We have a secret weapon this time around.” Another person spoke. “It’s often described as ‘A brilliant prismatic crystal, capable of vanishing the darkness of the void.’”

            “You’re giving one of the Light Relics to someone new?! I’m telling you, no one among the recruits has the kind of power to activate it!”

            “Rena, that’s the reason we separated them out in the first place,” The first member spoke again, “To find someone capable of using it before we’re out of time. And it worked. We found that person.”

            “Well… who was it?”

            “I don’t know if you knew her, but her name is ‘Lua.’ She was the top of all the advancing groups, up until you claimed that spot in this last squad.”

            “Lua? But… I think you must be mistaken. I mean, she has a good heart, but to activate a Relic…”

            “She’s a descendant of several people who have activated Relics in the past, and additionally some of the most powerful magic families ever to exist among the elves.”

            “But even so, how can you be sure that the Relic will choose her?”

            “There’s another detail about her. She’s not entirely elven. She’s half. Her father was an elf. Her mother was a member of the human Landar family. All of them have been able to activate a Relic. It’s a safe bet that she will be able to as well.”

            “…” She didn’t know how to respond to something like that.

            “If you’re done wasting our time, girl,” The council member who greeted them as they entered spoke, “Then we congratulate you on your position. I’m sure you remember, but you are to go to Ruben and watch over the El Shard there.”

            “Yes, I remember. That you for the reminder, sir.” She said through her teeth. “I believe this is your way of asking me to begin, then?”

The next day, I had packed my things and moved out to Ruben. I was greeted by Captain Sieghart of the Red Knights, who offered me a place to stay with his two kids. I turned him down, aware of the misfortune his family had recently come by, explaining that I didn’t want to feel like a replacement. I told him I’d probably be scarce to the village people, because I’d be watching over the El most of the time. Though, it was a small village, so I ended up knowing most of everyone in a few years. Sieghart’s boy seemed to enjoy hanging out with me, despite my initial attempts to remain isolated. A few years later, a girl with distinct purple hair moved into the village, and became friends with the two of us. She could be annoying at times, but I think it worked with the group dynamics.

I found out shortly after my arrival that the group my friends were in had been mutually destroyed along with Henir’s Order. It gave them more credit in my book that they were able to do that well against that kind of enemy. But then again, what good is credit if you’re dead? In the ninth year of my time in Ruben, the Council’s hunch that something would happen to the El came to fruition when Banthus stole the El Shard. The peaceful times I had been enjoying until then suddenly came to an end, and I found myself wrapped up in something much bigger than I could have possibly imagined when I began my training.


	4. Vigilantes

            “Raven! Raven, wake up!” A familiar, excited voice shook him awake.

            “Hmm? Seris?”

            “Big news!” She held a newspaper up to him. The headline read ‘Major Break-In at Palace.’ “There’s no evidence as to who did it, but a shady merchant is leaving town with two mercenaries as guards!”

            Having read through the paper, he replied. “What is he, an idiot? Why would you agree to sell goods like that?”

            “Uh, because he’s a thief desperate for money!”

            He sighed. “Seris, this merchant isn’t the thief. Chances are, he wasn’t the one to steal from the palace. He may be a fence, but that doesn’t make him a thief.”

            She huffed. “Then who do you think is?”

            “Well,” He started, “Given that there’s no evidence, whoever did it must have had a key to wherever it is they need to go. That means there’s two people who could have possibly done it. Either one of the butlers or maids, or one of the royal advisors.”

            “And why couldn’t it have been anyone else?”

            “Because the butlers and maids have their keys on them at all times, and the royal advisors sleep behind some of the most secure doors in the kingdom. While the butlers and maids have keys to any door, they don’t have access to secure things like display cases. The royal advisors do.”

            “So then, it one someone from one of those two groups?”

            “Normally, yes. But there’s a simple fact about the palace that makes only one of them possible.”

            “And what’s that?”

            “Cleaning isn’t done until sunrise, and there are guards in front of the secure doors. The butlers and maids wouldn’t have been able to sneak into that area to steal the keys. Additionally, no one reported their keys being stolen in the first place.”

            “So then… one of the advisors did it… Should we report this?”

            “If I know the investigators as well as I think they do, they’ll have had the same line of thinking. Though, everyone will likely be under investigation anyway.”

            “It could speed it along, though. Why don’t we give them an anonymous tip off?”

            He smiled. “Saris, we’re outlaws. They’d arrest us the minute we set foot in the city. Our job is to deal with the people the law can’t touch. We catch them and provide enough evidence for an arrest.”

            “But we’re still going to catch this merchant guy, right?”

            “Of course. Fencing is also a crime.”

            “I’ll tell the guys, then!”

            This is how life normally went these days. Every now and then, something small came up, the law couldn’t do anything about it, and he and his mercenaries would take care of it. If there was evidence of a crime, they’d just capture them and hand them over to the guards, which is what the plan for the merchant was.

            Their plan was carried out without a hitch. A couple people took out each of the two guards, and a few people knocked the merchant unconscious and tied him up, throwing him in the back, and sending the cart filled with stolen goods back to the city.

            While the guards and merchant were being taken care of, others had taken food and money out of the back of the cart in order to sustain themselves. This was their form of payment, and they never took anything else (though, they often took any rope the person had on them, as not being able to buy rope became a disadvantage when trying to capture criminals).

            This is what every day was like for them. Find some criminal, catch them, and hope they had enough food or money to sustain them for a while. Though they were technically criminals for acting above the law, once a month an official caravan would be _conveniently_ abandoned on the road near their camp.

            These were left by Raven’s friend from the academy. He was of noble blood, and as such, had no issues getting through easily. Just before Raven dropped with several people now with him, he had offered him to leave with the rest. He refused, but was supportive of their cause. When he was promoted to commander, he began unofficially sending out unguarded caravans to be dropped off in a specific location, claiming that field units and elves came to him for support in their missions.

These peaceful times of catching runaway criminals didn’t last long after that. Seris and I became engaged that same day, but then something else brought everything to an end. I woke up to the burning smell of smoke and ash. I ran to the entrance of the tent to see the entire forest lit ablaze, and Velder soldiers killing everyone in sight.

            “Seris, listen to me. You need to get out here as fast as you can.”

            She hesitated. “But… but I-“

            “Just run. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”

            She nodded her head nervously and ran out the back of the tent.

          He muttered quietly to himself. “I’m sorry, Seris. I need you to survive. You’re the only one who can fix this.”

            Moments later, several soldiers walked in and outside into the burning forest where he was then confronted with a familiar face.

            “Owen?! What are you doing here?”

            “My, my, Raven. You didn’t _really_ think I was helping you, did you?”

            “You bastard…”

            “No, Raven. _You’re_ the bastard. And to think, you _actually_ trusted me. A _noble_? Help a _bastard commoner_? Ha!”

            “You know, I think this says something about you that you didn’t know.”

            “And what might that be?”

            “You’re willing to use others as stepping stones just to gain power. Even if they were once your friends.”

            “Friends?” He let out a soft chuckle. “Don’t make me laugh. You were a tool from the beginning. I build you up in the laws eyes, and set up a trap for you, making you top the most wanted boards. I just so happen to stumble across his little den while finding out where our missing supplies are going, capture him, and kill his accomplices. It’s a perfect plan, and it worked. Think of the promotion I’ll get from this.”

            “That just goes to show that you don’t really care what happens to any of the people around you.”

            “You’re right. Not even the girl I used to love. Bring her.”

            Two guards brought a familiar woman.

            “Seris?! I told you to run!”

            “Oh, you really thought she could get away on her own? Or maybe you thought we wouldn’t touch her just because she’s a noble?”

            He sighed. “If you let her go, I’ll do whatever you ask, with no resistance.”

            “Oh? Fallen in love, have we? Let me guess. You fell in love, turned her against her people, and planned to use her against us?” He drew his sword.

            “That’s not it at all! She came of her own will, and you know it!”

            “Well, then I guess that makes her a traitor. And you know what we do to traitors.”

            “Raven…” She spoke softly. “It’s going to be okay. Trust me. I- Ahhh!” Owen’s sword pierced her heart, and she dropped to the ground.

            “SARIS NOO!” He cried out.

            “Oops. It seems that we nobles will do our duty to the kingdom even if it means killing each other.”

            “You… monster!”

            “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. It _is_ a tragic happening that the only heir to an influential family, but in the end, she chose to fight me to the death, and lost.”

            “You won’t get away with this.”

            “Oh, but I already have. Come to think of it, you chose to fight me as well.” He raised his sword, but dropped it as a blade Raven had never seen before struck through Owen, and continued slicing through him, ultimately killing him.

            Behind where Owen had once stood was a figure in full armor, presumably of steel. The odd thing was that there were no plates that would make movement possible in armor. A bleak, monotone voice called from it, and it seemed to drown out the sound of the fire and burning forest around them.

            “You have violated the terms of the contract. You and your subordinates will now be executed.” It then ran around, swiftly taking down all of the soldiers before returning to him. “Mission objectives updated. Secure the prototype.”

I blacked out after that. When I woke up, I was already someone else. Some _thing_ else. So I came up with a plan to take revenge on the ones who had caused all of this at the root. First, I would take down my captors. Then, I would destroy Velder and kill every singe noble.


End file.
